Thursday, 2 February 2012

Could the Debate

It is absolutely amazing the animosity over GM crops, and it is incredible the level of conspiratorial debris out there online, as the coordinator for a think tank which happens to operate online, I am blown away by it all, literally. In fact, I should by a wind farm to harvest all this genetically modified hot air some day.

The other day, I was discussing Genetically Modified foods with an acquaintance, Mark is a seed specialist, and futurist thinker with many innovations, he stated that;

"GM foods are a complicated issue, they offer many solutions to modern day problems but they also come with their own complications. Growing a high yield crop of corn that can survive the harsh environment is undoubtedly progress. The downside to GM foods is that they can pass their modified genes on to the local plant varieties, given enough time the effects of this could be detrimental to the local ecosystem as a whole. With proper planning and segregation of these crops the idea could still work."

Well, it is an issue, terminator seeds do prevent some of this, but there are issues and a case study with sunflower seeds in the wild causing havoc. However, genetically modified crops can very much help us with things like the Ug99 fungus and such issues as producing drought resistant crops, just as soil bacteria root research is immensely wise. I mostly worry about crop species variations, and inadvertently reducing down to one type of rice, corn, wheat, or soybean. Diversification is important, and very wise, which is why I like projects such as the millennium seed vault idea - just in case.

Now then, what about, and Mark and I talked about this also, the challenges in certain regions where they've obviously out-populated their food resources? We need to have a way for those regions with abundant food production to assist, that makes sense. Still, with the challenge of let's say starving Africans, Haitians, or Indians - the procreation rates are too high, and as we feed more people or "give" them more food, they continue to up-step their procreation rates.

What can we do to fix this problem, on that our very giving of food to feed the poor is currently exacerbating said problem?

I believe people should be able to choose if they wish to eat genetically modified crops in this case, as they can either take the free food and aid, or die of starvation, but there is a catch, if you take the food, that food aid will be fortified with supplements slowing down the chances or percentage of reproduction, thus, reducing the number of off-springs so that you do not exacerbate the problem by creating an environment where healthy humans have nothing better to do but reproduce because we made it possible by feeding them in the first place.

Many believe that procreation is a human right. Okay, sure one can say that, and I would submit to you that they have the choice, it just comes with serious ramifications, if you decide to take free food. This is such a contentious and heated argument, that I will merely leave you with this thought, and let you decide. Please consider all this and think on it.